Three guilty of murder in Ilford

Three men have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of the murder of a teenager who was shot dead in Ilford.

Police were called by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) at 22:10hrs on 21 March to Bedford Road at the junction with Ilford Lane to reports of a man unconscious after being shot.

Officers and the LAS attended and found 19-year-old Abdifatah Sheikhey suffering from gunshot injuries. Paramedics provided first aid, but despite their best efforts, Abdifatah was pronounced dead at the scene at 23:22hrs.

A post-mortem examination on Wednesday, 22 March, at East Ham Mortuary gave cause of death as a gunshot wound to the chest and abdomen.

Following an investigation led by Detective Chief Inspector Chris Jones from the Homicide and Major Crime Command, three men were arrested on suspicion of murder.

Detectives pieced together the events of the evening to establish that Abdifatah, who was from Poplar, was sitting in the passenger seat of a black Mercedes saloon when a white BMW 4X4 pulled up beside his vehicle.

The court heard how on the evening of the killing one of the three got out of this car armed with a handgun and with his face covered, and shot Abdifatah repeatedly while he sat helpless.

The shooting took place in Woodlands Road. The vehicle Abdifatah was in was driven the short distance to Bedford Road.

Omar, Mohamed and Kibusi then made off in the BMW, which was found abandoned the next day in Express Drive, Goodmayes.

The Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command launched an investigation.

CCTV of the incident and the surrounding area before and after the murder was retrieved and viewed, and officers were able to follow the journey of the BMW, and identify the suspects.

The BMW had been informally rented by Kibusi who gave a different first name when he picked up the car. The vehicle had a tracker device fitted, and it showed that the car was stationery at the scene at the time of the murder. Analysis of Mohamed's phone records also placed him in the area at the time.

The suspects were arrested on Tuesday, 28 March and Wednesday, 29 March, and answered "no comment" to the questions about the crime put to them. They were subsequently charged on Thursday, 30 March with Abdifatah's murder.

It is believed that the evening before on 20 March, the victim and Omar - who were known to each other - had a violent armed altercation in a fast food restaurant in Ilford Lane, and the murder was a revenge attack.

DCI Chris Jones said: "This senseless murder - believed to have been committed in retaliation for a clash between the victim and one of the suspects - has devastated Abdifatah's family.

"These three suspects went out with the sole intention of tracking down Abdifatah and causing him serious harm.

"With a firearm in their possession, this tragic outcome was inevitable. They now face a significant period in jail, and I hope the verdict will allow Abdifatah's family to come to terms with his death."

Omar, Mohamed and Kibusi were found guilty following a trial at the Old Bailey will be sentenced at the same venue on 14 November.

+ Two other men, both aged 23, who were arrested on 28 March on suspicion of murder were released with no action being taken.